1. Poultry Improvement Project
The Normal Chicken

2. Heart Beats
The normal heart beat per minute for a baby chick is
For a normal adult chicken it is
For comparison, the average for humans is 70

3. Taking a Heart Beat
Take your own heart rate by placing your fingers on your wrist and recording the number of pulses for 15 seconds. Times your answer by 4
Take the heart beat of a chicken with a stethoscope or by gently pushing against an artery in the leg and counting the beats

4. Respiration
Normal respiration rates or breaths per minute is for a male chicken and for a female chicken
For comparison, the human is Usually the very tiny and the very large animals have a high rate
Elephant and the shrew both have 95

5. Body Temperature
Average body temperature varies from to degrees F
Body temperature of a human is 98.6
A dog is
Body temperature can be taken with a rectal thermometer

6. Checking Legs, Comb, and Feet
Check to make sure the chicken is walking properly
The feet should not be swollen or have lesions on them
The toes should be straight
Comb should be a healthy color (red)
White lesions on the comb indicate disease